Get the Perfect Rise on Your Sourdough With This Ballerina Farm Recipe

Making bread, the most basic food ever, at home from scratch, and all by yourself is a primal feeling. And when you’ve decided that it’s go-time, what could be better than a copycat Ballerina Farm sourdough recipe? While starting with a basic bread would be easier, once you’ve successfully made the perfect sourdough bread from scratch, you are now indeed a good cook. Luckily, this Ballerina Farm sourdough bread recipe is one of the easier ones, though it will most likely take more than a few tries to make the perfect one.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Tips
• Ballerina Farm Sourdough Recipe

Ingredients

• Active starter — 250 g.
• All-purpose flour — 1000 g.
• Sea salt — 24 g.
• Water — 735 g., another 50 g. after adding the salt.

Instructions

1. Combine the active starter with water in a mixing bowl.

2. Mix well until it reaches the desired consistency.

3. Add the all-purpose flour.

4. Mix until combined, which should take a few minutes.

5. Add sea salt, along with the rest of the water.

6. Cover with foil and let it rest for half an hour.

7. When the dough is ready, knead it for a few minutes, to incorporate the salt and water.

8. Cover and let it sit for another half hour.

9. Do this again a few more times, allowing the dough to rest for half an hour each time.

10. After the fourth or fifth time, cover it again and let it rest at room temperature until the dough doubles in size.

11. Transferring the dough onto a counter, and cutting it in half.

12. Give the dough a square shape, and roll it up.

13. Push the rolled dough first, then follow by pulling it towards yourself, giving tension.

14. Do this last step a few more times until the dough is bouncy enough.

15. Do the same with the other half.

16. Let the two halves rest for half an hour, uncovered.

17. After half an hour, do the push-pull step once again, with both halves.

18. Carefully place the loaves into two different baskets and cover them with plastic.

19. Transfer the baskets to the fridge and cool them for two hours.

20. Gently place the loaves in the oven, ideally in an iron pot.

21. Cover and bake for half an hour at 450 degrees.

22. Remove from the heat and let the bread cool before serving.

Substitutions

• All-purpose flour — The original Ballerina Farm sourdough recipe uses all-purpose flour. Many people believe that bread flour works better than all-purpose, when it comes to sourdough bread. The high protein content of bread flour gives sourdough a better texture and shape. We don’t really recommend using wheat flour, though. Your sourdough bread will just end up dry and tasteless.

Variations

• Gluten-free — The Ballerina Farm sourdough bread recipe is definitely not gluten-free. You should be swapping all-purpose flour with a gluten-free alternative. Brown rice flour would do the job, though you can also opt for oat flour or buckwheat flour. Once you’ve also gotten a gluten-free starter, you’re all set.

• Sweet — If you have a sweet tooth, go back to the first step and add one or two tablespoons of honey into the bowl, with the active starter and water. Though the original Ballerina Farm sourdough recipe doesn’t include honey or any added sweetener, you’ll be glad you made that addition after having a bite of the sweetest sourdough you’ll ever taste.

Equipment

• Mixing bowl.

• Iron pot.

• Oven.

• Plastic wrap.

• Basket.

• Kitchen scale.

Storage

Though stale sourdough bread may taste great, follow these instructions for proper storage:

• Keep the bread at room temperature. Storing it in your fridge will dry out the sourdough bread.

• Allow the sourdough bread to completely cool, and cover it with plastic wrap. You can also use aluminum foil.

• Though we don’t recommend storing the sourdough in the fridge, wrap and freeze it for increased shelf life.

Tips

• Baking — Once the loaf is baked for half an hour, check if the edges are golden brown. If not, give it another 5-10 minutes of baking.

• Practice — Making the perfect sourdough bread is hard. Your first try will most likely result in a mess and you’ll be throwing it away. But that’s okay. Ballerina Farm wasn’t founded in a day. Keep practicing and don’t be disheartened.

• The starter — Though this one’s not mandatory, we’d recommend feeding your starter beforehand. Feed the starter and leave it out the night before. In the morning, feed it again. Ideally, at this point, you should wait for your starter to balance itself, which would take approximately four hours. Wait for a few hours before jumping into the action.